The DOH Declares a National Dengue Epidemic

Our country, because of its natural tropical climate, is home to a lot of mosquitoes. Furthermore, it is a known fact that mosquitoes have the ability to carry many different deadly diseases like Dengue and Malaria.

This image was taken from the Philippine Star | PhilStar.com

Every year, the Department of Health (DOH) makes their tally of the number of incidents that Dengue hit the Filipinos. Last month, the DOH sent the alert that the country had a national dengue alert.

If you do the Math, in last month’s data of the DOH, there were 106,000 cases from the start of the year until mid-June of this year. A month after, that number spiked dramatically higher than the usual.

Which regions are affected?

The region that reported the most number of Dengue patients is the Western Visayas region. In that part of the country alone, the total number of patients are 23,330.

It is a high amount considering the fact that the Western Visayas region is not as condensed as the Luzon island.

What does these figures imply?

According to the health officials of each city and municipality, this national Dengue epidemic was alerted as a form of identification for authorities to see where response and action is required.

The nationwide Dengue alert

In a previous post, it was told by the DOH that it was the first (1st) time that the country ever experienced this. The reason for this is because the spike in the cases of Dengue reached an alarming figure and that it cannot be anymore contained.

Enrique Domingo, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary, said that they declare a national epidemic for it to be easier for their resources to respond. More so, he explained that this is because of the weather our country is having.

We say it’s an epidemic when half of the regions are affected. We call it a national epidemic and it makes it easier for us to mobilize resources. It’s definitely the water, especially now that we’re having rains. You have stagnant water, 2 to 3 days is enough for the life cycle of a mosquito.”

When would this alarming rate of Dengue cases be?

As per Domingo, this condition could continue until September because this is when the raining would gradually lessen. Then, in turn, mosquitoes would not be around anymore because stagnant waters won’t stick around most of the time.

Domingo advised the public that if any of the family members experience fevers that last anywhere from two (2) to three (3) days, they should immediately see and consult a doctor to have themselves checked.

Protecting yourselves and your family from this Dengue outbreak is not as complicated as it seems. Proper hygiene and appropriate storing of water is usually the key.

For the current national Dengue epidemic, however, Dengue patients who are already suffering just needs to be looked at by healthcare professionals to be given appropriate medication.

People who aren’t affected yet, on the other hand—it is always healthy to remember that prevention is better than cure.